Session 3225

REDESIGNING THEFIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

Richard B. Cole, Bernard Gallois, Keith SheppardCharles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering

Stevens Institute of TechnologyHoboken, New Jersey 07030

Stevens’ engineering curriculum has been revised, and part of this revision introduces engineer-ing activities into the first semester via 3 concurrent engineering courses. This semester had pre-viously consisted entirely of science and humanities courses. Now the first semester includes:Engineering Graphics (2-credit laboratory), Engineering Seminar (1 credit), and Engineering De-sign Laboratory I (1-credit laboratory).

The major goal of these activities in the first semester is to provide the students an early bondingwith engineering and its style and task orientation as distinguished from science. They are aimedat initiating development of competencies that will build through subsequent design experiences:

1. Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs

2. Ability to function effectively on multidisciplinary teams

3. Ability to identify, formulate and assess alternative technical and economic solutions to en-gineering problems.

4. Ability to communicate effectively and persuasively, both in writing and orally.

5. Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineeringpractice

6. Skill in leadership

Integration of Engineering Courses

Stevens' new engineering curriculum puts high priority on at least some integration among dif-ferent courses. While very tight integration is not necessarily a goal, interplay between differentcourses is required to be conscious, recognizable, and representative of the mutual interdepend-ence that exists among “different” engineering subjects.

In the first semester, opportunities exist for integration of the several engineering courses. Thereis also potential for integration with the concurrent science courses, particularly the Introductionto Computers course (Computer Science Dept.) and the first semester of Physics which treatsmechanics. The major integration in Fall 1998 was between Engineering Graphics and Engi-neering Design Laboratory I.

Integration of the Engineering Design and Engineering Graphics courses was in 4 respects:

First, freehand technical sketching, a frequent component of graphics courses, was undertaken inthe Design Course as a natural, functional component of a product-dissection workshop.

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Sketching was not significantly dealt with in the Graphics course itself.

Second, as part of the product dissection workshop, hardware (a cordless screwdriver) was re-lated to actual working drawings from the manufacturer1. In this workshop, students were re-quired to work with different types of working drawings (part, subassembly, and assemblydrawings, standard parts; parts list) in order to find out about materials, dimensions, etc. of theproduct being dissected.

Third, tolerancing was dealt with in the Design course before a more extensive treatment in theGraphics course. A concern for the stacking of tolerances was introduced “just-in-time”. Thissupported the requirement that the first project, a name plate or “logo”, should be mountable onthe vehicle chassis of Project 2; this required design of the mounting hole or slot sizes to allowassembly.

Finally, and most significantly, Project 1 (see below) was designed in the Graphics Laboratoryand executed in the Design Laboratory with some of the database-processing required for pro-duction on CNC machines having been carried out in the Graphics Laboratory

In addition, some integration of the Design Laboratory with the Engineering Seminar for first-year students was possible. The Seminar course allows fairly rapid feedback of student com-ments in the Seminar to instructors in other courses. Fortunately, feedback concerning the De-sign course and Graphics courses was positive and did not indicate a need for remediation. Thiswas not the case in at least one science course taken by the first-semester engineering students.

ENGINEERING DESIGN LABORATORY I

Overview

The design course, E 121 – Engineering Design Laboratory I, is a 1-credit course, offered to allengineering students in their first semester. It is the first in a series of one-per-semester designlaboratories constituting a "Design Spine" running through all eight semesters. These designlaboratories are each integrated, more or less, with other concurrent courses required of all engi-neering students. The first-semester course meets for 3 hours per week, and, as a 1-credit labo-ratory course, is not intended to require work by students outside of the laboratory periods. Thecourse was offered for the first time as part of the initiation of Stevens’ new engineering cur-riculum in the Fall of 1998.

As formulated by a faculty committee dealing with design content in the engineering curricu-lum, Engineering Design Laboratory I is intended to:

• Provide an interesting early "hands-on" experience in engineering

• Create an integrated link to engineering graphics

• Introduce and practice the engineering method

• Introduce the student to professional practice topics including effective groupskills, project management and basic economic analysis.

This course is intended to introduce students to the process of design and seeks to engage theirenthusiasm for engineering from the very beginning of the program. The engineering method is 1 Kindly provided by Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc, Towson, Maryland.

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used in the design and manufacture of a product. Product dissection is exploited to evaluate howothers have solved design problems. Development of competencies in professional practicetopics is started, primarily: effective group participation, project management, engineering eco-nomics, and communication skills. These competencies are developed throughout the design-course sequence.

Format and Support

Each class session, of which there are 6 throughout the week, includes two 24-student sectionseach of which has an instructor who is an adjunct faculty member and an undergraduate (peer)teaching assistant. In addition, a course coordinator (regular faculty) and a graduate teaching as-sistant offer planning and support for the instructors as do an Associate Dean of Engineering andthe Dean himself (during the course-development phase). An Engineering Technical Servicesgroup provides support via design and construction of support equipment. The Head InstituteMachinist provides an introduction to machine-shop practice.

The content of the course is in the form of two projects and associated skills developmentthrough a variety of short "workshop" sessions. These involve workshop exercises in topics suchas cost estimating, product dissection, oral and written communication, etc.

Design Laboratory Facilities

The course uses 2400 ft2 (40’ x 60’) of floor space newly reconstructed. The laboratory providesa 6’ x 5’ L-shaped work bench for each group of 3 students and is completely networked, onenetwork connection for each of the 48 students simultaneously occupying the space2. Each halfof the laboratory serves one section of students and is equipped with power tools, specificallywith two band saws, drill presses, scroll saws, and a sanding center. In addition, each half of thelab contains a “gathering area” of about 200 ft2. This space is provided for “chalk talks” andshort presentations by the instructor; this area is equipped with white board, projection screen,overhead projector, and RGB computer-display projector. A “support area” in the laboratory al-lows stowage of materials and other paraphernalia in current use, while an adjoining “preproom” provides space for development of new hardware, stowage of out-of-use materials andsupplies, etc.

Faculty & Staff

The course instructors are adjunct faculty drawn from industry and consulting firms. The prox-imity of a variety of industries allows the course to benefit from instructors of a variety of ages(30’s to 60’s), some relatively new to the engineering workforce, some retired from a range ofengineering disciplines. Some are alumni, both recent and otherwise, though most are not. In-structors are recruited (by the Associate Dean) via alumni publications, announcements toalumni with jobs in nearby locations, personal reference by alumni and others, etc. Experiencewith such adjunct faculty had been positive for the four years of a similar design course for stu-dents in their second semester of the earlier engineering curriculum.

Each instructor is or has been a practicing design professional, and each announces to his classon the first day what his engineering activities have been. Selection of instructors is constrained

2 Networking will be fully utilized next year when all incoming first-year students will use laptop computers.

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by the requirement that all course sessions should be held during the regular academic day, noneto be in the evening3.

Judging from student evaluations and observations of instructors’ interplay with students, the useof adjuncts who are practicing engineers has been successful. Practicing engineers, particularlysome of the younger ones, seem to establish credibility quickly as "real-world" engineers.

Course Content

Table 1 shows a topical outline of the course content. The 3-hour laboratory periods are typicallysubdivided into periods of approximately one hour. For the sake of variety of activity, successivehours in the same laboratory period are typically scheduled for rather different activities to en-courage participation and minimize monotony. Most of the activities are either multi-week proj-ects or single- or part-week workshops; these are described in the following two sections.

Design Projects

The first project was the design and production of a “logo”, a decorative plate, machined eitherby incising or in relief on a ¼"-thick plate of clear polycarbonate (2½" x 3¼") (see Fig. 1). Theplate was to be mounted on the vehicle designed and constructed as Project 2. Solid Works™software was used in the Graphics course to create the design. Diverse logo designs included awide range from simply a few letters (e.g., S.I.T. or student initials) to a stylized duck (schoolmascot) or simple abstract shapes to simplified versions of international flags. Once formulated,the 3-D design became the basis for a drawing of the “pocket” representing the shape. Thedrawing was imported into MasterCam™ software, processed into a “G-code” suitable for driv-ing a CNC Machining Center4, and the logo was produced. Students carried out the steps butwith detailed “cook-book” instructions and under close supervision by Engineering Servicesstaff. In this process, students got experience with the need to communicate between various de-sign and manufacturing databases, with concepts like reference planes and machining coordi-nates, with concern for feeds and speeds, tool path, etc.

The second project was longer and appreciably more challenging than the first. The task was todesign and construct an autonomous model vehicle capable of traveling a course of approxi-mately 40-ft length in minimum time. The straight course included low-grade and high-gradeinclines (up to 38%) (up and down). The vehicle was required to use a modified power train(electric motor and transmission) from a commercial model kit5. The two-speed transmission ofthe kit was modified by strapping on a small d.c. motor to actuate the gear-change lever The ve-hicle was also required to use a microprocessor board6 to take signals from a slope-detection sen-sor (to be designed) as a basis for deciding when to change gears. In addition, the group’s logo,(produced as Project 1) was required to be mounted on the vehicle. Figure 2 shows one group'svehicle.

The design challenge was comprised of 3 components: the vehicle (chassis shape and construc-tion, wheels including alignment, logo mounting), the microprocessor control algorithm, and theslope-detection sensor. This scope was well suited to the 3-person design groups. 3 Some design labs later in the curriculum have been and will continue to be offered in the evening. Such evening

classes are found even to be preferred by some students.4 ProLight Model 1000 Machining Center (http://www. lmcorp.com/lmcorp)5 Tamiya "Buggy Car chassis kit", (http://www.Tamiya.com)6 “Stamp II” board from Parallax Inc. (http://www.parallaxinc.com). This board will be reused on similar projects

in future years.

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Construction was achieved using a tool box of hand tools for each group, the power tools avail-able for each section in the laboratory, and materials (wood, plastic, sheet metal, etc.) in stock.Students could supplement available materials and/or supplies by requisitioning or otherwise, forvalue not to exceed $15. per group. Parts or materials not in stock could be requisitioned by stu-dents (at their own expense), and in support, the course staff placed orders semi-weekly fromeither of two supply houses who could provide fast (one-day) delivery.

Workshops

Measurements – A worksheet was completed by: (1) filling in the answers to questions about avernier micrometer and calipers (sizes of subdivisions, maximum measurement capacity, etc.),and (2) carrying out a series of measurements on one of the parts of the battery-powered screw-driver (to be disassembled the following week) and on a ping-pong ball. Some statistics (mean,median, mode) were included.

Product dissection – a battery-powered screwdriver7 was disassembled, reassembled and work-sheets completed (for grade) isolating several parts of the screwdriver and specifying the func-tion(s) of the parts and how those functions might have been accomplished differently. As a pre-liminary and also as an introduction to engineering graphics, manufacturer's working drawings ofthe screwdriver were used as the basis for students to learn where to find information from thedrawings and to answer a range of questions concerned with product materials, dimensions, partsnumbers, etc.

Sketching – Techniques for freehand sketching were introduced along with concepts of ortho-graphic projection into 3 principal views and into isometric views. Sketching workshops wereaimed at developing manual facility with hard and soft pencils, drawing straight lines, circles andellipses. One of the parts dealt with in the product dissection was sketched (for grade).

Cost estimating – “Design-for-assembly” concepts were dealt with in a workshop during whichdesign groups formulated an estimate of the assembly time (and, thereby, assembly cost) for thebattery-powered screwdriver. This cost was expressed as a fraction of the wholesale price of theitem, leading to consideration of costs other than fabrication, e.g., overhead, profit, distribution,etc. Fabrication costs were estimated for Project 1 by assuming a machining time and tooling andcapital costs as well as a plant overhead rate. An important facet of the design sequence is theearly introduction of the economics of engineering design. This is intended to inculcate studentswith the idea that design has to be carried out in an economically-constrained environment.

Oral Communication - Guidelines for oral presentations were formulated with the students andserved as a basis for the oral reports given (by each group member) to conclude Project 1.

Written Communication – Different types of written reports were introduced, the contents ofeach were considered, and this served as a basis for group reports submitted for Project 2. Re-ports and project hardware were submitted in draft and prototype form, respectively, two weeksbefore Project closure. One week later a “revision” session was held followed by the final writtenreport being due and performance tests being held the last week of the semester.

Group Dynamics - No formal instruction about Group Dynamics was included in the first offer-ing of the Design Laboratory. Nonetheless, staging of the first several activities in the coursewere purposely formulated so as to lead relatively easily into group activities. Students were

7 Black & Decker Model 9072

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formed into groups during the second course meeting on the basis of information they providedin writing during the first week of the course8. While individual students undertook product dis-section during the second week, they were encouraged to confer with each other concerning thefunction of various parts and the possibility of other concepts for accomplishing the same func-tions. Thereby, students had experience working together before they encountered being mutu-ally responsible for deliverables in later workshops.

Project Management - Students prepared (for grade) two work breakdown structures, one forpractice (for building a house) and one for their activities on Project 2. They also prepared Ganttcharts for Projects 1 and 2 and were introduced to concepts of parallel vs. sequential activities.

ENGINEERING GRAPHICS

In the previous curriculum, graphics was taught in the first semester of sophomore year. It tookthe traditional 2-D approach that is a daunting challenge to many students as they grapple withvisualization. In revising the curriculum we have moved the Graphics to first semester with con-fidence that we will not deter beginning students. This confidence stems from the remarkabledevelopments in CAD software. We have adopted the SolidWorks software package whichprovides the student with a familiar Windows interface and an intuitive solids-modeling ap-proach. This software also offered a less severe learning curve to the novice than the other pro-fessional solids-modeling packages that were considered.

Within the first few weeks, students are able to produce 3-D renditions of parts and even assem-blies of parts that were not possible even after a full semester with the old 2-D approach. Thevisualization barrier to engaging students in the Graphics course is essentially eliminated. Oncethey are comfortable with developing a solid rendition, the course then moves to the traditional2-D representation for engineering drawings. The software generates the actual 2-D projectionsand the students can focus on dimensioning, tolerances etc., freed of the mechanics of actuallyproducing 2-D drawings.

The instructors of this course each have several decades of graphics experience and are very en-thusiastic and invigorated by the capabilities that the software brings to their teaching. This istruly a case of where developments in computing have changed the teaching paradigm.

ENGINEERING SEMINAR

This one-credit seminar was introduced as part of the enhancement of experience for first-semester engineering students. The Graphics and Design courses expose students to engineeringfrom the start of their program by early immersion in the engineering method and tools and tech-niques of design. As a complement to this, a key goal of the seminar is to introduce students in amore global sense to the profession of engineering. It is also intended to help them succeed asstudents and in their later professional and personal lives.

8 Each student completed a “Student Record” which provided some information concerning the extent of his or her

backgrounds (or lack thereof) in working with wood and metal-working tools, electronics, computer program-ming, project execution (e.g., science fairs), etc..

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Each seminar group of approximately 24 students meets with an engineering faculty memberonce per week for approximately 90 minutes. The faculty members strive to curb their naturalpredilection to lecture. Rather, they take on the role of facilitators in order to prompt class dis-cussion and collaborative exercises. The seminar leans heavily on the pioneering work of RayLandis at Cal-State-L.A., and uses his textbook1.

The learning environment at Stevens is distinguished by a large core providing significantbreadth together with the necessary depth in the engineering disciplines. This manifests itself ina heavy credit requirement and leads to more contact hours than found in most engineering pro-grams. It was necessary to designate the course as one credit in order to provide an incentive forstudents to take the course seriously as they juggle their commitments. To maintain their interest,variety beyond class discussion is necessary, e.g., field trips, guest speakers and laboratory visits.

The syllabus contains a significant focus on examining and trying to inculcate, through under-standing, those attributes and skills that will lead to academic and personal success. This in-volves delving into the factors that will lead to success in engineering study and practice. It in-cludes probing the role of attitudes and the development of success strategies such as time man-agement.

In addition, students learn about the engineering profession in general, about specific engineeringdisciplines and about professional licensure. This is achieved through class discussion, readingassignments and Web searches, for example by using the ASEE and the American Association ofEngineering Societies Web sites as launching points. Students also are introduced to the use oflibrary resources for obtaining information by way of enjoyable "hands-on" exercises. Increasedexposure to practicing engineers and engineering enterprises is planned for the future develop-ment of this course through a Distinguished Engineer Lecture Series and plant trips.

One of the significant benefits to emerge from the seminar is the major role that it can play in theadvising system for students. In the past, students were assigned a faculty advisor for the firstthree semesters until they started their chosen disciplinary elective sequence, at which point theytransitioned to an advisor in their chosen engineering Department. The general experience wasthat little interaction took place between students and advisors in the first three semesters. In theseminar, the faculty gets to know a small group of students over a full semester and this pro-motes much freer and extensive interaction in an advisory mode, both within class and outsideone on one.

References

1. Landis, Raymond B., Studying Engineering - A Road Map to a Rewarding Career ,Discovery Press, Burbank, CA, 236 pp., 1995.

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Biographical Information

RICHARD B. COLE is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He coordinates Stevens ’ 1st-semester designcourse. He holds the Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (Cornell), M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering(Stevens) and Aeronautical Engineering (Princeton). and a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens. He hasheld several offices of ASEE’s Energy Conversion and Conservation Division including Chair, and Program Chair.

KEITH SHEPPARD is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering. Heearned the B.Sc. from the University of Leeds, England and Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, England,both in metallurgy. As Associate Dean, Sheppard coordinates the development and implementation of the coursesthat comprise the core design sequence at Stevens.

BERNARD GALLOIS is Dean of Engineering and a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He receivedthe Diplôme d' Ingénieure Civil des Mines at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy, France. He ob-tained the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in metallurgy and materials science from Carnegie-Mellon University. As Deanhe has lead the recent revision of Stevens' Engineering Curriculum and the development of associated infrastruc-ture.

Figure 1: A CNC Machined "Logo" Figure 2: A Microprocessor-ControlledVehicle

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WK HOUR 1 HOUR 2 HOUR 3

1

Course Introduction;

Outlines of projects; Intro. toEngineering Design

Measuring-tools workshop(vernier micrometer, dial calipers,digital calipers); form temporary

(alphabetical) groups

Introduction to freehand sketchingincluding workshop (temporary

groups)

2

Introduction to productiongraphics & graphics workshop(parts d’w’gs, assembly d’w’gs,

std. parts); Form permanentgroups

Design Analysis – cordlessscrewdriver

Design Analysis workshop – eachstudent sketches and describes

function and alternative implementa-tions for one part

3 Revisit Of Design Analysis work-shop - discussion of "good" and

"not-so-good" responses.

Intro. to costing(screwdriver assembly)

Assembly-costing workshop

Machine-shop work-shop

Intro. to Project 1SectionA

Intro. to Project 1 Machine-shop workshop4Machine-shop lecture

SectionB Project Management and Group Dynamics workshops

SectionA Project Management and Group Dynamics workshops

Machine-shop work-shop

Intro. to Project 15 SectionB

Intro. to Project 1 Machine-shop workshop

Project 1 (Continue)

6 Introduction (Demo. )to NC milling machines

Machining costing modulewith workshop

Project 1 (Continue)

7 Intro. to oral reporting Design Project 1 - Production Design Project 1 – Production (Con-tinue)

8 Design Project 1 – Production(continue)

Testing and Orals on Project 1 Intro. to Project 2

9 Project 2 (Continue)

10 Intro. to written reporting Project 2 (Continue)

11 Project 2 (Continue)

12 First tests of Project 2 (Draftreports due)

Project 2 - Revision

13 Project 2 - Revision (Continue) (Return of graded draft reports; feedback via written comments and consul-tations)

14 Re-test of Project 2 and oral reports (Resubmit written report)

Table 1: Engineering Design Laboratory I – Course Topics By Week And Hour(Two 24-student sections meeting simultaneously)

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